Costa Concordia cruise ship that ran aground is seen off the west coast of Italy at Giglio island

January 14, 2012. At least three people were killed and rescuers were searching for other victims after an Italian cruise ship carrying more than 4,000 people ran aground and keeled over in shallow waters.

Italian news agency Ansa said 4,165 out of the 4,234 people on-board were safe but did not know the whereabouts of the remaining 69

The Costa Concordia holds 3,700 passengers and made its maiden voyage in June 2006. The website describes the vessel as a 'real floating temple of fun that will amaze you'. It has four swimming pools, five restaurants, 13 bars, spa, cinema, fitness centra and even a jogging track. There are 1,500 cabins in total. Prices for winter cruises in the Mediterranean start at 390 but can top 1,200 for a top of the range suite with sea view. It is 950ft long and has 13 decks in total. The liner has a top speed of 21.5knots. (40km/h) Italian media reported that the ship had been involved in a previous accident in Italian waters in 2008, when strong winds caused the ship to bang against the port's dock in Palermo, the Sicilian capital. No one was injured although the ship was damaged.

Costa Concordia cruise ship that ran aground is seen off the west coast of Italy at Giglio island January 14, 2012. At least three people were killed and rescuers were searching for other victims after an Italian cruise ship carrying more than 4,000 people ran aground and keeled over in shallow waters.

Costa Concordia cruise ship that ran aground is seen off the west coast of Italy at Giglio island January 14, 2012. At least three people were killed and rescuers were searching for other victims after an Italian cruise ship carrying more than 4,000 people ran aground and keeled over in shallow waters.

The hull of the massive Costa Concordia was damaged as it ran aground and water began pouring in

By Saturday morning it was lying capsized, revealing a hole 30m wide (98ft) in the hull

Collision: Rocks embedded in the ruptured side of the Costa Concordia reveal the extent of the damage to the hull

A close-up shows rocks emerging from the damaged area of the hull

Waiting game: A passenger took this photo of a group of passengers in life-jackets on board the liner as they waited to be rescued

TRAGEDY AT SEA: OTHER FAMOUS VESSEL DISASTERS

July 10, 2011: An overloaded cruise vessel sinks in Russia's Volga River near Kazan, killing 122 people. June 21, 2008: The Princess of the Stars ferry suddenly tilts and capsizes off the coast of the Philippines during a powerful typhoon. More than 800 die. Feb 3, 2006: After a fire breaks out during a Red Sea ferry voyage from Saudi Arabia to the Egyptian port of Safaga, more than 1,000 people drown. Sept 26, 2002: Senegalese ferry capsizes in a storm off Gambia, killing more than 1,800 people. May 21, 1996: A ferry sinks in Lake Victoria in east Africa, killing more than 800 people. Sept 28, 1994: The ferry Estonia sinks during a storm in the Baltic Sea, killing 852 people. Feb 16, 1993: Overcrowded ferry sinks between Jeremie and Port-au-Prince, Haiti, estimated 500-700 dead. April 7, 1990: Fires set by an arsonist break out on the Scandinavian Star ferry in the North Sea en route from Oslo to Fredrikshavn, Denmark, killing 159 people. Dec 20, 1987: In the world's worst peacetime shipping disaster, 4,340 drown when the ferry Dona Paz collides with the tanker MT Victor in the Philippines. Aug 31, 1986: Soviet passenger ship Admiral Nakhimov collides with a merchant vessel in the Black Sea, sinking both ships and killing up to 448 people. May 25, 1986: Some 600 people die when a ferry goes down in the River Meghna in Bangladesh. Jan 27, 1981: 580 killed when Indonesian passenger ship Tamponas II catches fire and sinks in Java sea. July 25, 1956: Two passenger liners, the Andrea Doria and the Stockholm, collide off Massachusetts, sinking the Andrea Doria and killing 46 of its 1,706 passengers and crew. May 29, 1914: A Canadian Pacific steamship, the Empress of Ireland, collides with a Norwegian freighter near Quebec, sinking in 14 minutes and killing 1,012 people. April 12, 1912: The Titanic the world's largest passenger steamship at the time, strikes an iceberg in the Atlantic and sinks on its maiden voyage, killing at least 1,496 people.